New school is a first for Scottish Muslims

SCOTLAND’S first Islamic secondary school is to be opened in its biggest city, prompting fears it could cause rifts with the wider community.

The building of the school could pose a threat to other areas of the community

Previous bids to set up Islamic secondaries in Glasgow and Dundee have failed.

Abbotsford House, a former state school in the city’s Gorbals area, has been bought for £400,000 by a group known as the Glasgow Community Education Association (GCEA).It plans to rename the B-listed Victorian building ‘The Islamic Institute’.

The school will provide private secondary education to boys and girls, as well as a nursery and will be funded by parents, businessmen and others in the Muslim community.

The GCEA has in the past claimed that attending mainstream schools was resulting in “unsocial behaviour” among Glasgow’s Muslim youngsters.

But the establishment of the school raises questions over inclusivity and whether denominational learning could cause community rifts.

The school lies within the Glasgow Southside Scottish Parliament seat of Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who has faced stern opposition from the Muslim community over the Scottish Government’s support for gay marriage.

Glasgow MSP Hanzala Malik last year disputed the need for a Muslim school in Glasgow, urging those behind such plans to redirect their energy into improving mainstream provision. He said: “When children leave school they are all going to have to live in the same world.”

Previous bids to set up Islamic secondaries in Glasgow and Dundee have failed.

Last year, it was reported that the GCEA hoped to buy the derelict Holmlea Primary School in Glasgow’s Cathcart. That bid was abandoned.

The GCEA’s website asks for donations. A fundraising dinner was held last week, and a women-only bazaar is to be held in Govanhill today.

The GCEA said it does not plan to seek public funding.

A Facebook posting says: “Please donate generously and remember you will not only be investing in your children but also in your own Akhirah [afterlife].”

It adds: “This will be the first successful Islamic secondary school in all of Scotland!”